Blue Ribbon Trail Ride

by Miralee Ferrell

Kate gulped. This wasn’t at all what she’d expected. “Mom? Dad? You aren’t going to call the police and turn Mr. Creighton in?” She wanted to shout, After everything he put us all through? But she didn’t.

  Melissa stared at Kate’s mom. “Yeah. That’s what I figured you’d do, first thing. I couldn’t believe you didn’t have him hauled off as soon as he admitted he stole the box. What’s the deal, anyway?”

  Kate’s mom smiled. “I guess you haven’t been around us long enough yet, Melissa, to know we do things a little differently. We’re told in the Bible to forgive our enemies and to pray for people who treat us badly.” She directed her attention to Mr. Creighton. “You did treat us badly when you stole the box, and we’ve been praying for you. But God caused you to think about what you’d done, and you returned our property. Not only that, you’ve shown remorse, admitted you were wrong, and said you have a problem.”

  Kate’s dad raised his brows. “I think at this point”—he glanced at Kate’s mom, who nodded—“we need to forgive and try to help you deal with your issues, rather than punish you when you’ve finally come to the place where you know you need help.”

  At that moment silence descended on the group, and something nudged Kate’s heart. She and her friends hadn’t been totally honest with Jerry and invaded his private space without his permission—he had the right to be upset and suspicious. Even if he wasn’t nice to Jake, they might need to apologize. And worse than that, they’d treated Mr. Wallace badly, a lonely old man who mostly had magazines and newspapers for company. Sure, they’d brought him cookies, but they’d done it so they could snoop through his house. They’d also made a mess of his treasures. The old man was confused and had issues, but they hadn’t helped him. Instead, they’d done what Melissa said they shouldn’t do with Jake—they’d used him to get what they wanted.

  Kate felt even more terrible now for leaving Mr. Wallace so upset. She decided that as soon as her parents rested up a bit from the scavenger hunt, she would talk to her mom again about him. It wasn’t enough to invite the elderly man over for dinner or to church. Maybe together the five friends could figure out other ways to help, like cleaning his kitchen, asking him about his collections, or doing little things the way they did for Mrs. Maynard. Maybe he was cranky because he needed a friend.

  Just like she had needed friends when she moved to Odell … and found Tori, Colt, Melissa, and now, Jake.

  “Right.” Kate gave a decisive nod to her dad’s statement. “I agree. We got the money back … and a lot more too. Dad, you said we needed a miracle to be able to pay for Pete’s camp. Now we can send Pete—and a bunch of other kids!” Then she sobered. “What’s more important, though, is that Mr. Creighton won’t steal anymore, and we know God can help him with that.”

  A tear trickled down Mr. Creighton’s cheek. He didn’t even try to wipe it away.

  “Mr. Creighton, we’ll keep praying for you,” Kate said softly, “but let us know if we can do other things to help too. That’s what friends do. Right, guys?” She looked at each of her friends.

  A ringing chorus of joy sounded from the group. Pete clapped, Mouse and Rufus barked, and a horse in the nearby pasture neighed.

  Mr. Creighton buried his face in his hands. “Thank you all. I didn’t know people like you existed.”

  Jake snorted. “Hey, this is just like that movie—”

  “Jake!” Kate and her other friends all said at once. “Give it a rest,” Kate added, “and we promise you can keep hanging out with us.”

  He grinned at the circle of new friends. “Cool. That’s even better than watching Star Wars!”

  When a rockin’ concert comes to an end,

  the audience might cheer for an encore.

  When a tasty meal comes to an end,

  it’s always nice to savor a bit of dessert.

  When a great story comes to an end,

  we think you may want to linger.

  And so we offer …

  … just a little something more after

  you have finished a David C Cook novel.

  We invite you to stay awhile in the story.

  Thanks for reading!

  Turn the page for …

  • Secrets for Your Diary

  • A Horse-Themed Scavenger Hunt

  • Author’s Note

  • Acknowledgments

  • About the Author

  • Books by Miralee Ferrell

  Secrets for Your Diary

  Secret #1

  Do you believe that dreams can come true?

  It isn’t in the budget for Pete to go to camp. Kate’s dad says it will take a miracle. Kate can’t accept that the dream isn’t within reach. Instead, she determines to find a way to make it happen and asks her friends to brainstorm with her.

  Is there something you dream of doing? Or that you could do to help a person in need? What could you do to put a plan in motion?

  Note from Kate

  At first I was super-disappointed that Pete couldn’t go to camp and scared that Dad might decide to close the barn. Then I realized Pete was more important than the barn, and God might show us a way to keep the barn open and to help Pete. My friends and I brainstormed to come up with a fun idea, and the scavenger hunt even brought new people to our barn who might decide to board there. If you’ve got a problem or you know someone else who does, maybe, with God’s help and the help of your friends, you can brainstorm a new way to tackle it!

  Secret #2

  Is it easy for you to add friends to your group?

  Kate and her friends finally get used to Melissa being a part of their group. Then Colt suggests they get to know Jake. But Kate worries about what Jake might be like, especially because his brother had been mean to him all his life. Still, she can’t shake what Melissa says about not using Jake—that they shouldn’t get something from him and then dump him.

  What about you? Do you make friends just for what you can get from them (like status in a group), or because you find them interesting and want to get to know them?

  Note from Kate

  When I first met Jake, I thought he was kind of annoying—until I got to know him better. Now I realize he has a funny sense of humor and is different, but different isn’t always bad. In fact, since he’s been hanging around, I think I’d miss his silly movie references and big words if I never saw him again. That makes me sad that I didn’t want him to be part of our group at first. I didn’t want to include anyone else, because what we had seemed perfect. I’m so glad I was willing to give him a chance. How about you? Is there someone who doesn’t have many friends that you can be kind to?

  Secret #3

  Do you ever feel impatient with people who say or do things that aren’t kind? Or people who always seem to be angry about life?

  Kate learns a lot about judging others. She realizes that you can’t possibly know what makes people act the way they do if you don’t know anything about their past or their life at home.

  For example, Melissa used to be mean to Kate and Tori. But Melissa’s dad had left her and her mom almost broke, and that had sent Melissa’s mom into a spiral of drinking. Melissa was sad and lonely, and her friends turned away from her when they discovered she was no longer wealthy.

  Mr. Creighton lost his wife seven years earlier and blamed God. His anger against God made him bitter and the kind of man who would steal.

  How can this perspective—that life situations can cause people to act as they do— change the way you think of others and how patient you are with them?

  Note from Kate

  This was a superhard thing for me to deal with at first, because I thought Melissa was a stuck-up girl who didn’t care about anyone but herself. Wow! Was I ever wrong! I didn’t realize how much pain she was stuffing inside because of things going on in her family. The same with Mr. Crei
ghton. I wanted to be mad at him because he stole Mom’s box and our money, until I heard his story. Now if someone doesn’t treat me right, I pray for that person, try being nice, and wait to see what happens. You might want to try the same thing too. Maybe you’ll find out that person has a horrible family life and is very unhappy inside. You might be the one God uses to make a difference in that person’s life and attitude. Now wouldn’t that be cool?

  A Horse-Themed Scavenger Hunt

  You can plan your own horse-themed scavenger hunt with friends, and you don’t even have to own a horse! (Of course, if you own a horse, that’s fine too. Just set up the hunt for horseback.) It doesn’t matter where you live—in town with a small yard, in a city apartment with no yard, or on a farm with lots of land. These ideas work anywhere.

  Setting Up the Scavenger Hunt

  1. Make a list of horse-related items you can use for your scavenger hunt. Some you might already have, and others are inexpensive to buy. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  * a hairbrush (instead of a horse brush)

  * twine (instead of a lead rope)

  * an apple

  * sugar cubes (horses love to eat them)

  I’m sure you’ll think of lots more!

  2. Brainstorm horse-related clues for each item that give hints of what scavenger hunters should look for. Decide whether you’re going to have individual scavenger hunters or hunters working together in groups. Make enough copies of the clues so that each person or group has their own list. Examples of items to find and clues:

  * Item to find: a hairbrush

  Clue: Without this, you and your horse would have wild hair and a tangled mane.

  * Item to find: twine

  Clue: It’s hard to lead a horse anywhere without this.

  * Item to find: an apple

  Clue: This not only keeps the doctor away, but horses love them!

  * Item to find: sugar cubes

  Clue: There’s nothing more sweet, and it makes a horse smack his lips to get one.

  3. Hide the items where they can be found, but not in obvious places. For example, don’t put the hairbrushes in the bathroom or bedroom. Place them in the kitchen or TV room, but don’t hide them so well that searchers make a mess hunting for them. The adults in your home might not appreciate that!

  4. Come up with a few creative prizes. You can use fun items you already have or inexpensive items you buy. You can give one prize to each person who completes the list, rather than only having one winner. That makes the scavenger hunt fun for everyone. Depending on the age of your hunters, prizes could be packs of stickers, gum or pieces of candy, a book, or a blank journal. Use your imagination!

  When You’re Ready to Launch Your Scavenger Hunt

  1. Give each scavenger hunter or group the list of clues.

  2. Set a time limit. Everyone has to bring their items back within thirty minutes, an hour, or whatever time you choose.

  3. Give out the prizes at the end. And most of all, have fun!

  Author’s Note

  I’ve been an avid horse lover all of my life. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t fascinated with the idea of owning a horse, although it didn’t happen until after I married. My family lived in a small town on a couple of acres that were mostly steep hillside, so other than our lawn and garden area, there was no room for a horse. I lived out my dreams by reading every book I could find that had anything to do with horses.

  My first horse was a two-year-old Arabian gelding named Nicky, who taught me so much and caused me to fall deeply in love with the Arabian breed. Over the years we’ve owned a stallion, a number of mares, a handful of foals, and a couple of geldings. It didn’t take too many years to discover I couldn’t make money in breeding. After losing a mare and baby due to a reaction to penicillin, and having another mare reject her baby at birth, we decided it was time to leave that part of the horse industry and simply enjoy owning a riding horse or two.

  Our daughter, Marnee, brought loving horses to a whole new level. She was begging to ride when she was two to three years old and was riding her own pony alone at age five. Within a few years, she requested lessons, as she wanted to switch from Western trail riding to showing English, both in flat work and hunt-seat, and later, in basic dressage. I learned so much listening to her instructor and watching that I decided to take lessons myself.

  We spent a couple of years in the show world, but Marnee soon discovered she wanted to learn for the sake of improving her own skills more than competing, and she became a first-rate horsewoman.

  We still ride together, as she and her husband, Brian, own property next to ours. My old Arabian mare, Khaila, was my faithful trail horse for over seventeen years and lived with Marnee’s horses on their property, so she wouldn’t be lonely. At the age of twenty-six, she began having serious age-related problems and went on to horse heaven in late July of 2013. Now I ride Brian’s Arabian mare, Sagar, when Marnee and I trail-ride. I am so blessed to have a daughter who shares the same love as me and to have had so many wonderful years exploring the countryside with my faithful horse Khaila.

  If you don’t own your own horse yet, don’t give up. It might not happen while you still live at home, and you might have to live out your dreams in books, or even by taking a lesson at a local barn, but that’s okay. God knows your desire and will help fulfill it in His perfect way.

  Acknowledgments

  This series has been a brand-new adventure for me—one I never expected, but one I’m so blessed to have experienced. I’ve loved horses all my life and owned them since I was nineteen, but I never thought I’d write horse novels for girls. I’m so glad I was wrong!

  So many people have helped make this series possible: My friends at church, who were excited when I shared God’s prompting and offered to pray that the project would find a home, as well as my family, my friends, and my critique group, who believed in me, listened, read my work, and cheered me on. There have also been a number of authors who helped me brainstorm ideas for the series or specific sections of one book or the other when I struggled—Kimberly, Vickie, Margaret, Cheryl, Lissa, Nancy—you’ve all been such a blessing!

  My fan group and Street Team on Facebook helped me brainstorm ideas for the sleuthing the kids could do to try to find the thief, and my editor’s daughter, Kayla, gave me ideas for the scavenger hunt. Books are rarely written completely alone, and I’m so thankful for the help of friends and readers.

  I also want to thank the team at David C Cook. I was so thrilled when Don Pape asked if I’d consider sending this series to him to review when I mentioned I was writing it. The horse lovers on the committee snatched it up and galloped with it, and I was so excited! I love working with this company and pray we’ll have many more years and books together. Thank you to all who made this a possibility and, we pray, a resounding success!

  You can learn more about me and all of my books at www.miraleeferrell.com. Thank you for taking the time to read this series!

  About the Author

  Miralee Ferrell, the author of the Horses and Friends series plus twelve other novels, was always an avid reader. She started collecting first-edition Zane Grey Westerns as a young teen. But she never felt the desire to write books … until after she turned fifty. Inspired by Zane Grey and old Western movies, she decided to write stories set in the Old West in the 1880s.

  After she wrote her first Western novel, Love Finds You in Last Chance, California, she was hooked. Her Love Finds You in Sundance, Wyoming won the Will Rogers Medallion Award for Western fiction, and Universal Studios requested a copy of her debut novel, The Other Daughter, for a potential family movie.

  Miralee loves horseback riding on the wooded trails near her home with her married daughter, who lives nearby, and spending time with her granddaughter, Kate. Besides her horse friends, she’s owned cats, dogs (a six-pound, long-haired C
hihuahua named Lacey was often curled up on her lap as she wrote this book), rabbits, chickens, and even two cougars, Spunky and Sierra, rescued from breeders who couldn’t care for them properly.

  Miralee would love to hear from you:

  www.miraleeferrell.com (blog, newsletter, and website)

  www.twitter.com/miraleeferrell

  www.facebook.com/miraleeferrell

  www.facebook.com/groups/82316202888 (fan group)

  Books by Miralee Ferrell

  Horses and Friends Series

  A Horse for Kate

  Silver Spurs

  Mystery Rider

  Blue Ribbon Trail Ride

  Love Blossoms in Oregon Series

  Blowing on Dandelions

  Forget Me Not

  Wishing on Buttercups

  Dreaming on Daisies

  The 12 Brides of Christmas Series

  The Nativity Bride

  The 12 Brides of Summer Series

  The Dogwood Blossom Bride

  Love Finds You Series

  Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon

  Recently republished as Finding Love in Bridal Veil, Oregon

  Love Finds You in Sundance, Wyoming

  Love Finds You in Last Chance, California

  Love Finds You in Tombstone, Arizona

  (sequel to Love Finds You in Last Chance, California)

  Recently republished as Finding Love in Tombstone, Arizona

  The Other Daughter

  Finding Jeena (sequel to The Other Daughter)

  Other Contributions/Compilations

  A Cup of Comfort for Cat Lovers

  Fighting Fear: Winning the War at Home

  Faith & Finances: In God We Trust

  Faith & Family: A Christian Living Daily Devotional for Parents and Their Kids